Dodgers notebook: Greinke may be down, down under

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke throws during spring training baseball practice Feb. 10, 2014 in Glendale, Ariz. It wouldn’t bother Zack Greinke if he didn’t have to travel for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ opener against Arizona in Australia. “I would say there is absolutely zero excitement about it,” was quoted as saying in a story by ESPNLosAngeles.com last weekend. “There just isn’t any excitement to it. I can’t think of one reason to be excited for it.” (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Zack Greinke's mild calf strain is serious enough for him to miss his next start for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

When Greinke left Thursday's game after just four pitches because of the calf injury, Manager Don Mattingly offered the possibility Greinke would feel well enough by today to throw his scheduled bullpen session and resume his normal throwing schedule. But Greinke only played catch with trainer Stan Conte on Friday morning and did some conditioning work.

He will repeat that workout Saturday and will not throw off a mound yet. Mattingly said it is not likely Greinke will make his next scheduled start Tuesday.

"If he wasn't feeling anything, he'd throw his ‘pen tomorrow," Mattingly said. "Guys know. Today, I asked him about it. He said when he's walking it's fine. But I know guys test it. Guys are going to test it and see where they feel it. So I know he's still feeling something in there."

The setback essentially eliminates Greinke from consideration for one of the two starts in Australia on March 22 or 23 — but Mattingly is still unwilling to say that.

"Obviously it puts getting built up to 90 pitches in jeopardy," Mattingly said. "But I don't think that's a reason to rule him out of Australia yet."

Mattingly held out the possibility Greinke would pitch in one of those regular-season games against the Arizona Diamondbacks as "a different pitch-count kind of start — though that's down the road."

KEMP EXAM

Outfielder Matt Kemp had an MRI and exam of his left ankle Thursday, a day earlier than expected.

The MRI will be evaluated by team physician Neal ElAttrache and Robert Anderson, the surgeon who performed the microfracture procedure on Kemp's talus bone in October.

Anderson is in North Carolina, so the Dodgers are not expecting results of the MRI until today or Sunday.

Kemp has continued taking batting practice daily and also has been fielding grounders during outfield drills. But he has not been cleared to run on the field.

The Dodgers hope this latest examination will show sufficient healing in his ankle to clear him for the next phase in his rehab.

PROSPECT DOWN

One of the Dodgers' top pitching prospects, right-hander Ross Stripling, is in his first big league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Stripling started feeling some discomfort in his pitching elbow while throwing to hitters about a week ago, but didn't say anything until the pain intensified during his two-inning stint Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

The preliminary diagnosis is a strained ligament. Stripling was scheduled to undergo a contrast MRI on Friday afternoon to determine the extent of the problem and has been shut down from throwing indefinitely.

"He had some stuff going on five or six days ago but didn't let anyone know until in the game yesterday when he felt it again," Mattingly said. "That's one thing we talk about with young guys — it seems to happen every spring. You ask them to let somebody know but they don't want to. They want to compete. They want to show what they can do."

Stripling, who also participated in the Dodgers' winter development camp in January, acknowledged he should have said something sooner.

"Probably," he said. "But I didn't want to be the guy who lives in the trainer's room."

NOTES

The Dodgers signed two players from their open tryout. Right-hander Steven Edlefsen, 28, has been pitching in the San Francisco Giants' system since 2007, including the past three at Triple-A. Right-hander Danny Keller has spent the past three seasons in rookie ball for the Milwaukee Brewers. ... Right-hander Chad Billingsley has been cleared to start throwing breaking balls during his bullpen session today. Left-hander Scott Elbert threw off a mound for the first time this spring Friday. Both are returning from Tommy John surgery. Elbert's recovery was set back when he had an appendectomy in late January. ... Right-hander Josh Beckett is scheduled to make his first spring start Sunday.